Our view: Seeking a level playing field

File Photo

In a rare show of solidarity, the leaders of the Louisiana Democratic Party and the Louisiana Republican Party have joined forces in an effort to loosen restrictive campaign finance laws. And well they should.

The campaign finance laws at the state and federal levels were created with the intention of reducing the possibility of corruption. They also were intended to ensure that all candidates had a fair shot at being elected - not just the affluent and well-connected who could pull in large contributions.

But with the rise of super political action committees, which are not subject to the same rules, the formerly level playing field has become uneven once again.

Although super PACs are allowed to raise unlimited amounts of money, political parties and individual candidates have to abide by strict limitations.

At the federal level, political parties may accept only up to $10,000 per donor per calendar year, said Kirstin Alvanitakis, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. At the state level, the limit is $100,000 per four-year cycle.

They also are restricted as to the types of money they receive and on how they can spend their money, according to an Associated Press article. Although political parties and candidates must adhere to stringent reporting requirements, super PACs do not.

The term "dark money" has recently entered the American political vocabulary. That's money from an undisclosed source that is used by super PACs to support a candidate or issue. No transparency there.

There is only one significant limitation on super PACs: They are not allowed to coordinate with candidates they support. No contact is allowed. The result is that they run parallel campaigns to their chosen candidates' official campaigns. It usually works out well for the favored candidates whose views the super PAC organizers share.

The down side is that if the candidate doesn't like the tone or direction of the parallel campaign, there is nothing to be done about it. By law, the candidate is not allowed to simply pick up the phone and call super PAC organizers for any reason - not even to stop inappropriate representation, said Elliott Stonecipher, a Shreveport political analyst. Something needs to be done to restore balance to political campaigns.

These laws have not accomplished what they set out to do in theory, which is to spread political power out evenly, said John Baker, law professor emeritus at LSU in Baton Rouge. And besides, Baker said, these regulations violate the constitutional right to free speech and for that reason alone, they should be reversed.

Louisiana's major political parties have passed resolutions saying the laws hamper their ability to raise money through donations.

Louisiana's Democratic Party officials are supporting the efforts of the Democratic National Committee to negotiate with the Federal Elections Commission, the agency that oversees campaign funding, to do away with some current restrictions.

Louisiana Republicans have taken it a few steps further. They have joined the Republican National Committee in a lawsuit against the FEC to be allowed, like super PACs, to raise unlimited funds from single donors, to spend as the super PACs do and to help federal candidates with expenditures, according to the article.

They have the right idea. Parties and individuals running for office should be allowed the same rights as political action committees.

And while we're at it, let's extend transparency to super PACs, so the public will know who is backing whom and what. Then, the playing field will truly be level.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Our view: Seeking a level playing field

In a rare show of solidarity, the leaders of the Louisiana Democratic Party and the Louisiana Republican Party have joined forces in an effort to loosen restrictive campaign finance laws. And well